Thematic resources

When undertaking qualitative research, it is standard practice to review earlier methodologies and findings in one's particular field of enquiry. This is important in establishing how a proposed piece of research either addresses an unexplored area, acts to augment some previous enquiry, or re-uses a data collection in order to generate new findings.

While reviews of past research often concentrate on seminal or ground-breaking work that has in some way defined a particular field, it is also useful to assess a broader range of data resources in the field. Some 'thematic resources' have been compiled that review sources of archived data, national resource/research centres of expertise and other useful information in a particular field:

Criminology
Health Studies
Oral History

Thematic guides can also be accessed from our user guides section.